Welcome to Wine, Spilled, a weekly column in which EMD's Justine Sterling shares the myths, legends, tall tales, and short stories of the wine world, and recommends a couple bottles that won't break the bank. Today's wine: Cava

Everyone has a cause: some people fight for animal rights, others are trying to save the icecaps. Me? I try to get people to drink sparkling wine on a daily basis. It may not be as noble as other causes, but believe me, it’s worthwhile. How is sparkling wine different than other carbonated beverages? We drink beer or soda or mineral water daily and we don’t bat an eye; no one asks someone who pops open a bottle of Pellegrino what they're celebrating, and so it should be with sparkling wine. But, you say, I’m not made of money. I can’t afford Champagne every day of the week. Well, my friend, I didn’t say Champagne. I said sparkling wine, and there are many tasty, affordable bottles of it available.

On this quest to make the world a more sparkling place, let’s start in Spain, which means Cava.

The public option might be dead, wars continues to be waged, and ten percent unemployment persists, but at least we can console ourselves with the thought of Obamitas, the artisanal chocolate cookies out of Spain that feature the likeness of President Barack Obama. And we take no joy in telling you this, but they're only available in Spain. If you're lucky enough to live there, Obamitas will set you back €8.90 for 150 grams, €12.90 for 250 grams.

As part of Burger King's sponsorship of the Spanish soccer club Getafe for the 2009/2010 season, the soccer jerseys will be emblazoned with Burger King's logo. But the jerserys have a secret: the King's face is on the inside of the shirt for those dramatic goal-scoring moments when players flip their jerserys over their heads and run around.

"This was a partnership destined to happen," said Elías Diaz of Burger King Spain. "This is a club with commitment and passion. Burger King's values of fun, fidelity and authenticity identify with the spirit of Getafe and their unconditional passion."

We were recently tipped off to an article in an in-flight magazine that's a bit more risque than your usual "best tacquerias of Austin" spread. Ling, the magazine for low-cost Catalan carrier Vueling, published a May 2009 pictorial "El Ataque de las Tapas Zombies," featuring models taken to untimely ends by chorizo, baby octopus, and patatas bravas. It's a bold move for an in-flight magazine — so bold, in fact, that the magazines were pulled from the airline soon after the release.

Reads the copy:

... tapas, which, after prolonged storage in badly refrigerated displays, have experienced changes in their genetic code and, finding themselves bloodthirsty, have started to rebel against the human race... The authorities have placed the entire city of Madrid under quarantine. Citizens are advised not to leave the house during meal times and to fasten their fridges with insulating tape.

Burger King Spain is really knocking them out of the park these days — first they set off an international incident over their Texican Whopper ads with a tiny luchador wearing a Mexican flag, but that apparently wasn't enough. So some Burger Kings over in Iberia started displaying posters that show the Hindu goddess Lakshmi sitting on top of a meat sandwich with the tagline "La marienda es sagrada" (roughly translated: "A snack that's sacred").

Cute and all, except for the part where Hinduism dictates strict avoidance of the consumption of meat. Hindus everywhere are insulted and upset, and jumping the issue over to our side of the pond, the Hindu American Foundation is called for Burger King to pull the ads and for an apology.

Burger King's commercial in Spain for the Texican Whopper, featuring a tall American cowboy and a tiny Mexican luchador, "El Cachito," wearing a cape with the colors of the Mexican flag has set off an international incident. The AP reports: "Mexico's ambassador to Spain said Monday he has written a letter to Burger King's offices in that nation objecting to the ad and asking that it be removed. Jorge Zermeno told Radio Formula that the ads 'improperly use the stereotyped image of a Mexican.'"

The setup of the commercial is that they're roommates, working together to clean the house: The muscular wrestler opens jars, the tall cowboy lifts the wrestler up to reach high shelves and helps clean tall windows. Thus the tagline: "The taste of Texas with a little spicy Mexican."

The commercial isn't super-offensive (okay maybe it does tread on stereotypes a bit), but the print ad that has the luchador wearing the Mexican flag as a poncho is likely what angered Mexican officials the most. Said the ambassador, "This advertisement denigrates the image of our country and uses improperly Mexico's national flag."